Gentle Lullaby
by crimson-obsidian-rose
Summary: It’s bedtime, but a grumpy young Romano refuses to sleep. Is there anything Spain can do to change his stubborn mind? Spain and young!Romano, family fluff. Warning for language.


This is yet another exchange fic (when will I stop doing this to myself?!) this time for the Spain/Romano pairing. The prompt was "Spain attempting to make chibi Romano fall asleep during a camping trip," and here's a link to the lullaby I used in the song, in case you want to listen along: http:// www. youtube. com/ watch?v=pxlcMlnFapA.

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia, as always.

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Gentle Lullaby

The campfire flickered, one of the flames dancing up dangerously close to the cracked tree limb overhead, but Spain was far too preoccupied to notice. His attentions were focused upon a tiny child, barely physically even four years old, who was sitting on a log at the other end of the fire with a stubborn pout on his face.

Romano was not in the mood to go to bed. He was not. This whole day was stupid, and the night was even stupider, and so he wasn't going to sleep because that would make Spain happy and he wanted Spain to suffer for making him suffer. Crossing his arms even more tightly over his chest (and grateful that "Boss" Spain had decided dresses were not appropriate for camping, for once being sensible) he kicked at the dirt on the ground and sent some into the fire.

"Come on Romano, you need to sleep or you'll never grow big enough to become your own nation!" Not that Spain wanted his little tomato to become independent, but he figured the idea would be enticing enough to the child.

"Lying bastard! I sleep every night, and I'm still not free from you!"

"Romano, don't use those words, they're not nice." Spain made a mental note to keep Romano away from Prussia from then on, before sighing and holding out his open arms. "Now, come to Boss Spain for a goodnight hug."

"No." Romano stated simply, a heavy pout on his face. "I will not."

Spain nearly sighed again, before simply chuckling and standing, crossing the fire in a few long strides and scooping Romano up into his arms.

"Let me go!" The little boy struggled, trying to shove Spain's arms off him to little avail. "Let me go! I don't want to be touched by you!"

Romano continued to squirm, but Spain was much too strong for the tiny boy's flailing to bother him. He laughed at Romano's antics, bouncing him a bit in his arms to get a better hold of him, before walking back over to the log near their little tent.

As Spain sat back down, Romano got tired of squirming and beat him once hard on the chest for good measure before resting in his arms, still wearing the same pout he'd had on before.

"Ouch, Romano, that's not a nice thing to do." Spain chided him softly, rubbing at the sore spot for a moment before running a gentle hand through Romano's hair, his other arm secure around the boy's waist. Romano, for his part, only became even sleepier from the struggling, and eventually rested against Spain's chest.

"I don't care. And I'm not going to sleep!" He shouted, and Spain had good reason to believe he was being loud to keep himself up, especially with the way his eyelids were drooping.

"Of course not, mi tesoro," Spain hummed absentmindedly, already feeling Romano get heavier in his lap. There wasn't a point in fighting anymore; whether the little boy liked it or not his body was already shutting down.

Still, Romano was not going to let himself fall into slumber so easily. Every time his eyes would finally shut, he'd snap them open again and shake his head fervently, trying to buy himself a few more minutes of awareness.

A few moments were filled with just the sounds of the cackling fire, and the occasional far off animal noise that hardly bothered either of the campers. The smell of burning wood filled the air around them, and mixed with the heat from the fire it was a very comforting moment.

Apparently, it was too comforting for Romano, who broke the peace by shuffling once again and wriggling in Spain's hold.

"Romano?" Spain blinked, loosening his grip on the child just a bit.

"It's too hot, let me go!" he exclaimed, and at that Spain allowed him to escape, seating Romano beside him on the log.

"Aw, is that better now Romano?" He asked, running a gentle hand in the boy's hair again, knowing it was a surefire way to coax him to sleep.

Romano simply nodded, bouncing a bit in his seat, still trying to stay up. Spain couldn't help but notice how close the boy had stuck to him despite his feeling warm, and a smile appeared onto his tanned face. Romano yawned once again, tears forming in his hazel eyes.

"Aw, Romano, are you sure you don't want to sleep?"

This time the boy's grumble was hardly coherent, but his tone was enough for Spain to interpret them as a 'Shut up I'm not going to sleep!' Wrapping a careful arm around his young charge's body, he found that he didn't even have to prompt Romano to lean into him; the boy did so on his own.

Spain breathed softly, his green eyes absolutely glowing with paternal warmth as he watched Romano's eyes drift closed again, this time lingering that way a little longer.

"_Nana, nanita, nana, nanita ella._"

Hazel eyes suddenly snapped open at the sound of Spain's melodious voice, but he ran a comforting hand down Romano's arm to soothe him. Romano gave in to the touch immediately, eyes drifting shut once more.

"_Mi niño tiene sueño, bendito sea."_

The Spaniard continued his lullaby, sure to keep his voice calm and low, but still putting his all into the song. His voice was smooth, now that he was past the rough years of his body's puberty, and the lullaby was one that he sometimes used to calm himself, especially after a rough battle when his body was racked with pain and guilt, so he had no trouble expressing himself in it.

"_Bendito sea."_

'Bless my child.'

Romano was starting to fall over, head pressed against Spain's ribs in a way that his neck was all bent up; without pausing in his song, he adjusted the child so that his head was in his lap. Bless this child indeed, he thought, my little treasure.

"_Fuentecita que corre__clara y sonora._

_Ruiseñor que en la selva cantando llora._

_Calla mientras la cuna se balancea-"_

"…s-spagna…" He heard a whispered murmur, felt it breathed into his clothing, and paused for a moment in his song. But when Spain looked down, Romano's breath had mellowed out completely, his eyes were fully closed and relaxed, and his cherubic face was just that. He had fallen asleep, finally.

Running a hand in the Italian's thick locks carefully Spain concluded,

"_Ala nanita, nana, nanita ella."_

End

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I hope you enjoyed this~

crimson-obsidian-rose


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